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Legal Aspects and advantages for Islamic Countries to Ratify the 1999 Montreal Convention. Mansour Jabbari Ebrahim Shoarian. States Constitutions. Iran.
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Legal Aspects and advantages for Islamic Countries to Ratify the 1999 Montreal Convention Mansour Jabbari Ebrahim Shoarian
Iran Article 4: All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all articles of the Constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and the wise persons of the Guardian Council are judges in this matter. Article 94: All legislations passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly must be sent to the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council must review it within a maximum of ten days from its receipt with a view to ensuring its compatibility with the criteria of Islam and the Constitution. If it finds the legislation incompatible, it will return it to the Assembly for review. Otherwise the legislation will be deemed enforceable.
Syria • Article 3: • The religion of the President of the Republic has to be Islam. • 2) Islamic jurisprudence is a main source of legislation. • Article 127: The cabinet has the following powers: … 7) Concluding agreements and treaties in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution…
Algeria Article 2: Islam is the religion of the State. Article 9: The institutions are not allowed: ….. practices that are contrary to the Islamic ethics ... Article 168: When the Constitutional Council considers that a treaty, an agreement or a convention is not constitutional, its ratification cannot take place.
Afghanistan • Article 3: In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam. • Article 90: The National Assembly has the following powers:….. Ratification of international treaties and agreements, or abrogation of the membership of Afghanistan to them….
Iraq • Article 7: (A) Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be considered a source of legislation. No law that contradicts the universally agreed tenets of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the rights cited in Chapter Two of this Law may be enacted during the transitional period. …… • Article 33: .... (F) Only the National Assembly shall have the power to ratify international treaties and agreements….
Yemen • Article 3: Islamic jurisprudence is the main source of legislation. • Article 48: The House of Representatives shall approve and ratify all general international political and economic treaties and agreements of all sorts and labels, specially those related to defense, alliances, peace, change of border, or those with financial implications for the state or whose implementation requires the enactment of a law.
Morocco Tunisia Libya • Article 6: Islam is the religion of the State which …. • Article 1: Tunisia is a free State, independent and sovereign; its religion is the Islam, … • Article 2: Islam is the religion of the State ….
All of these countries have ratified the Warsaw Convention but none of them are party to the Montreal Convention. • What benefits are there for these countries to ratify the Montreal Convention of 1999?
Montreal Convention: significant advance over the Warsaw system • Unification of private international air law; • Provision for electronic ticketing and cargo documentation; • Strict liability on the carrier; • Presumptive unlimited liability for a second tier of claims; • States Parties shall require their carriers to maintain adequate insurance;
Montreal Convention: significant advance over the Warsaw system (continued) • The negotiation history: expanding “bodily injury” to include recovery for “mental injury”; • Protecting the passenger; • An additional “fifth jurisdiction”
1. Unification of Private International Air Law • The Warsaw Convention has now been outdated. • Montreal Convention prevails over any rule which apply to international carriage by air. • Involvement of the developing countries during the process of the preparation of the Montreal Convention! • The views of developing countries in the Montreal Conference. • If developing countries do not ratify?
1. Unification of Private International Air Law (continued) Hague Protocol of 1955 Warsaw System Guatemala City Protocol of 1971 Montreal Protocols 1 – 4 Montreal Convention Warsaw Convention
2. Documents of Carriage • The air carriers have to spend great sum of money in order to meet the documentation requirements under the Warsaw convention. • The Montreal Convention solved this problem by simplifying the formalities of the documents of carriage. • Does issuing ticket for passengers - as a written contract - is compulsory in Iranian and Islamic law?
A. Islamic Law • In Islamic law, signs and conducts (acts) that called Moaatat are sufficient for making a contract. • Legal code of “AL-MAJALLA AL AHKAM AL ADALIYYAH” : • Article 2: “A matter is determined according to intention; that is to say, the effect to be given to any particular transaction must conform to the object of such transaction.”
A. Islamic Law (continued) • Article 3: “In contracts effect is given to intention and meaning and not to words and phrases….”. • An Islamic legal principle: “Contracts’ effects follow the intent of the parties to the contract”. • This legal principle has been followed by some Islamic countries.
Example: Iranian Law • Article 191 and the subsequent articles of Civil Code: for concluding a contract and doing a transaction, it is not necessary to use a special form, and contracting parties are authorized to manifest their will by any means they wish. • The consent of contracting parties is important. • The Iranian jurists: a contract is considered to be valid and effective only by consent of parties.
3- Liability • A. The principle of presumption of fault was adapted by the Warsaw Convention. • A longstanding problem with the Warsaw Convention has been that it sets limits of liability that are now considered to be too low. • A two-tier liability system adopted by the Montreal Convention.
3- Liability (continued) • a. Islamic Law • In Islamic law, in some cases, the strict liability has been emphasized. • b. Example: Iranian Law • In Iranian law, a two-tier liability system for passenger injury and death can be adopted.
4- Insurance • State Parties are obliged to require their carrier to maintain adequate insurance. • Advantages for Iranian aviation industry • Iranian law adopted this kind of insurance in other types of carriages.
5- Mental Injury • Since 1929, Courts interpreted the “bodily injury” differently. • Amending the bodily injury requirement took priority in the Conference of the Montreal Convention of 1999. • Courts must review the negotiation history of the Montreal.
5- Mental Injury (continued) • a. Islamic Law • According to Muslim Jurists, the individuals have no right to impose moral damages to others. • b. Example: Iranian Law • Recovery for mental injury has been accepted in Iranian law.
Protecting Passengers Will Promote Tourism Industry • Developing countries could have economic benefits by promoting regional tourism. • The pilgrimage related religious tourist in many developing world, among them, the Islamic countries, could become a source of revenue if they develop their civil aviation industry. • Aviation plays a great role in developing tourism industry. • Civil aviation promotes business, foreign trade and tourism.
Protecting Passengers Will Promote Tourism Industry (continued) • Lack of safety of developing countries airplanes can be one of the reasons behind the refusal of foreign tourists to visit these countries. • People need to travel by airlines and want to be satisfied with their travel. • Developing countries have to pay attention to civil aviation as a means of promoting domestic as well as international tourism. • Developing countries have to ratify conventions that protect passengers. • The Montreal Convention protects passenger .
Protecting Passengers Will Promote Tourism Industry (continued) Aviation plays a great role in developing tourism industry Developing countries have to ratify conventions that protect passengers Montreal Convention protects passenger
7- Fifth jurisdiction • The fifth jurisdiction ensures that the victims are treated fairly. • An additional ‘fifth jurisdiction’ would be of some benefit to the developing countries. • The fifth jurisdiction is consistent with the domestic law of developing countries such as Iran.
Conclusion • Developing countries have to develop their civil aviation. One encouraging way to develop the air transportation is to adhere to new conventions specially those that protect passengers. • The 1999 Montreal Convention establishes a comprehensive and up-to-date set of rules defining and governing the liability of air carriers. It updated and simplified the rules governing documents of carriage. It provided a new jurisdiction, adopted strict liability and made other changes that will be of benefit to claimants. This Convention should be supported by developing countries.
